After watching shows on television like Toddlers and Tiaras, many parents make the assumption that child beauty pageants are a bad thing. The main reason is because there are a lot of people shown on these shows who place a huge weight on their toddlers to win. Of course, this isn’t a good thing, but when parents take their focus off the winning side of child beauty pageants, their children can reap big benefits from these competitions. Below are a few:

Confidence – As adults, we know the importance of being confident in your abilities. Having a healthy level of self-confidence helps us achieve our goals, make friends, pursue a career and many other things. Building confidence starts at a young age and child beauty pageants are a great vehicle for toddlers to start building self-confidence.

Social Skills – Child beauty pageants also help children improve their social skills as they learn how to make new friends with other kids their own age. Children competing in child beauty pageants will also learn how to effectively communicate with adults as well.

Good Sportsmanship – Learning how to be a good sport is something every child should be taught how to do. After all, no one ever wins everything in life…we all fail at some point and have to learn how to get back up. Child beauty pageants teach children this lesson as not every contestant will go home with a trophy. The good thing is that young contestants learn that with hard work and determination they can earn a trophy, and when they do, the win is that much more valuable to them.

Prizes - Of course there are prizes given out at child beauty pageants. While they shouldn’t be the sole reason for entering these competitions, they are considered benefits. Young children can win anything from trophies and crowns to modeling lessons, trips and iPods. However, if a child continues to compete in beauty pageants in the college, there are often monetary prizes that can help one pay for a college education.